Okay folks, it is now time to hop into the CC Wayback machine to the year of 1975, when, for some reason, a lot of new cars were named after Spanish cities: Cadillac debuted the “right-sized” Seville, Chrysler showed off their Herb Tarlek-tastic Cordoba, and FoMoCo displayed an extremely fancy Falcon, uh, that is, the Granada!

Yes, that’s right, the Granada was, in essence, a 1975 Falcon Brougham. Same basic chassis, although it had grown some: a few inches wider and about a foot and a half longer, and now with all the luxury trappings so desperately needed–and ordered!–in the Sicky Seventies. Performance? Ha! While you could order either a 302 or 351 V8 over the 200 or 250 six, that did not exactly translate to tire-burning performance. With emissions spaghetti and a greater interest in a smooth ride and quiet, none of these Granadas were for the performance-minded.

But they sold! They sold very well (some 300k in 1975), and even the plain-Jane Granada was not exactly a cheapskate special, with full wheel covers and at least a modicum of brightwork. For the true penny-pinchers, the aging Maverick was kept in the line, despite the fact that the Granada was originally meant to replace it.

Triple Jade Green: My favorite!

Granadas are generally panned, much like its showroom mate, the Mustang II. But like the MII (or Grand Pooba Pinto, if you prefer), the car sold. People liked it, people reached for their wallets and signed on the dotted line for them, and people enjoyed them. It was a solid family car for people who didn’t want or need a brontosaurus LTD, but DID want all the gadgets, gizmos and comfort options.

At the top of the Granada heap was the Ghia, available as a two-door coupe or four-door sedan. Special features included extra chrome trim, wide side moldings with a vinyl rub strip, plusher interior and other Brougham Epoch accoutrements.

By 1977, color-keyed wheel covers were also in the mix, and even aluminum wheels were available–for extra, of course. By the way, I do miss color-keyed wheel covers, but man, it must have been a royal pain to get a new one when one was lost–probably a frequent occurrence with the soft suspension (for the comfy ride, dontcha’ know) these cars had.

And now, a digression, if you please. A lot is made of how cars like this didn’t handle, weren’t fast, etc. Here’s a fun fact: Some folks didn’t CARE about being Mario Andretti (in their own minds, at least) and didn’t have any interest in driving like a speed-crazed moron. So, a car like this, for the accountants in Omaha, for the housewives in Olathe, and for the Montgomery Ward clerks in Des Moines, this was a perfectly acceptable automobile. Not everybody wanted a BMW–never mind they cost three times as much. Mmm-kay?

Perhaps the real reason folks today love to mock the Ford Granada is because of the rather silly ads that compared the Granada to a Mercedes-Benz. Yeah, sure! It looked just like a Mercedes–if you were blind! Wonder how many martinis were downed at lunch in Grosse Pointe for that campaign to look like a good idea? “Sho Bill, whaddaya shay? Let’sh compare the Granada to a Mercedeesh! They’re all taxicabs in Yurp anywaysh!” “Shounds good to me, Sham!”

Despite all that, and my liking these cars–especially in fully-loaded Ghia trim, that is not to say that these cars did not have common Emissions Era troubles. Indifferent assembly, early rust, and the like were all present and accounted for. But at least you could enjoy a comfortable ride and quiet before the car began to disintegrate.

In 1977 Granadas, a 200 CID Six paired with a four-speed manual overdrive transmission was standard equipment–even on the flossy Ghias. But even the plainest Granada got front discs, steel-belted radial tires, inside hood release, chrome grille, hood ornament, full wheel covers, and cut-pile carpeting. That might not sound like much to our younger readers, but in the mid-Seventies, it was a step up from a base Maverick, with rubber floor coverings and dog-dish hubcaps.

Inside, the interior was rather Lincoln-like, with more woodgrain than you could shake a stick at. Our featured CC even has the optional front bucket seats with console and floor-mounted SelectShift automatic transmission.

Those looking for more than a speedometer and gas gauge would have to look elsewhere, however–there wasn’t even a temperature gauge–just a row of idiot lights to the left of the steering wheel.

Inside, however, it was very much a more right-sized LTD. Still plenty of room–this was no Pinto, for heaven’s sake–and Ghia models also added nicer upholstery in either cloth or the vinyl shown here, and faux wood door caps. Remember, in the ’70s, faux wood was king–in Detroit, Dearborn and Kenosha, anyway.

Ford really made hay with the “Chamois” interiors these cars were available with–another nod to a similar interior color available on Mercedes-Benzes at the time.

And while only Mr. Magoo would mistake this for a 240D, the car did benefit from a Mercedes-like upright greenhouse and three-box design. Plenty of headroom and legroom, considering this was a compact car at the time. You probably had more room in this back seat than a contemporary Continental Mark IV!

I first spotted this rare survivor the weekend before these pictures were taken. I was on my way home from Iowa City when saw something Granada-shaped appear out of the darkness. A for sale sign suggested it wasn’t going anywhere for a while, so I planned my return right then and there.

So on November 9, I returned to Davenport for pictures. I saw another, even rarer car on the way–and about as different from this Granada Ghia as you could get–but that CC is for another day. In the daylight, the rich root-beer brown paint appeared to be original, as did the chamois pin striping. And still a local car, after all these years! Dahl Ford is still in business on Kimberly Road in Davenport–I worked there during the spring and summer of 2011.

And the oh-so-trendy-at-the-time luggage rack! I never, ever saw one of these actually being used. It really was just more chrome ornamentation by and large.

This was its good side, with all trim and those elusive color-keyed wheel covers all present and accounted for. I prefer the four-door to the two-door.

The huge doors of the coupe and tiny opera windows just didn’t look quite as good to me, though they have their appeal too, especially when fully loaded.

Here’s the bad side: Missing trim, missing Granada script on the front fender, and a missing wheel cover replaced with one from a 1980-82 Mercury Cougar. Scuff marks suggest all this happened when either the owner scraped into something, or something scraped into it. Perhaps that is why the car is being sold. Perhaps Aunt Mildred had a bit of a mishap in traffic?

What price Super Maverick? $1600 was the asking price, and if it is a running, driving car that is pretty cheap, but given the nonexistent demand for these cars, I imagine it could be had for less–especially if you fanned ten $100 bills out on the hood. Would you buy it? Is there any love in 2014 for a poor old Granada?

It is likely that someone will buy it for cheap wheels and drive it into the ground. Rather sad for a car that has survived for so long in largely original shape, but let’s face it: Not everyone is a CCer, and to most of the public at large, this is just an old Ford sedan–nothing special.

As for the Granada itself, it lasted all the way through the 1980 model year, gaining a facelift in 1978 that included rectangular headlamps. After 1981, the nameplate would move to the Fox chassis as a mildly restyled, more luxurious Fairmont, but it only made it through 1982 before getting yet another facelift and becoming the 1983-86 Fox Ford LTD.

But a few survivors, like this one, are still out there, proving that once a deluxe compact was sold by Ford Motor Company, and was popular. I have only one question: What in the world is that hood ornament supposed to be?!

Very similar to the Aussie Falcons and Fairlanes of the 70s just basic cars with some performance choices thrown in no emmision spaghetti helped them go better but very similar cars they only had to be as good as the competition and generally they were, the ones I owned and drove were reliable reasonably comfortable fairly competent in the handling as long as you didnt get too keen on twisting roads, they rusted quite well and were easy to fix when they broke.

The Granada was obviously no “American Mercedes” as its ads would have you believe. That said, it was among the most “European” American sedan of this era, especially in ESS form. As you mentioned Tom, its upright greenhouse, as well as its large glass area, large availability of bucket seats, and lack of loose-pillow seats (blasphemy!).

Quality must have been a major weak point, as I probably haven’t seen more than 5 of these in my life, and that’s being generous. Nice writeup and pictures. I do really like this car’s styling. It’s the perfect amount of gingerbread without being too overwrought.

The Granada should be noted for the down sizing movement among car buyers in the 70’s.

Ford discovered that the Maverick with the LDO (Luxury Decor Option) sold VERY well. Lido pounced on the trend with the Granada. Suddenly, North Americans could find something smaller than a Chrysler Imperial with as nice an interior and road as softly.

As much as the Granada is rightly panned for using the old Falcon platform and it’s various quality and driveability problems (which plagued every make), it was the first move towards downsizing the traditional American sedan. I was reading an old Pop Sci article yesterday from late ’74 discussing the Granada/Monarch, the new GM compacts and the Brougham/SE versions of the Valiant/Dart, which concluded that with the availability of better trimmed versions, these would be the new standard-size car.

I quite like the Granada (although I prefer the Euro one). Seems Ford actually tried with the design, there’s some nice detailing on it. Until the facelift model. See now this is what the facelift Grannie’s rectangular headlights say to me…:

I rode in one of these only once, as a dealer loaner for our total lemon ’83 LeSabre. It was a white two-door, with a steering wheel 90 degrees out of whack, and a consistent smell of burning leaves. Even as a seven-year-old, I wasn’t too impressed. It wasn’t really the car’s fault, a nine-year-old Granada in Michigan was a feat in itself.

Tom, it’s too bad you couldn’t clone yourself and save all of these old sedans to keep them from daily driver death row. Let it sit long enough and you might even get it for $800. I wonder if it’s a 302.

I often worry about cars going to a good home when they are sold. Hopefully, this Granada goes to a caring owner, as I don’t get why it would be a good candidate for cheap wheels. An early 1990s Japanese car in similar condition can be had for the same amount of money and has better reliability, efficiency, and parts avaliability. I guess that possibility isn’t fully eliminated as these aren’t too big to be impractical, and not iconic enough to have a well established cult following. It seems like 1970s cars haven’t been preserved in the numbers that 60s cars have. Hopefully somebody on this site buys it, http://www.americangranada.com.

I have the same concern about my ’72 Pinto woodgrain wagon. Not show quality, but in excellent original condition. I plan to keep it for the rest of my life. Neither of my daughters are interested in it. I hope it doesn’t wind up being cut up and painted flat black with 22″ ghetto wheels.

It is a shame about ’70s cars. They were the last generation of decent American cars. Many people put them down because of the safety bumpers and low power output courtesy of the EPA, but the ’70s, at least IMO, produced some of the best looking cars ever made. Things started going downhill in the ’80s, and are still going downhill. I keep wondering if anyone will ever build a nice looking car again. Probably not.

I noticed in almost every shot, including the old brochure pics, the Granada looks like it is weighed down with a load of cinder blocks in the trunk…..The car does not sit level….looks like it needs heavier duty springs in the rear.

Why yes, the rear springs were too soft. With two people in the back, my 75 Monarch bottomed in the rear when driven gently over railroad crossings. It also bottomed with four people on board and a full trunk on some undulations on I-95 in downtown Jacksonville, FL.

There is a 1977 gray 2 door for sale 20 min away from me with about 25k miles with red bucket seats, no A/C, automatic, 250 L-6 and it looks to be the Ghia trim level. It first appeared behind my local Chrysler dealer sitting out back amongst the trade ins. My friend’s car dealer brother got it wholesale for cheap money and then sold it for 3K to that dealer. I shudder to think what the price is now!

What always stood out to me was how much more upper scale these were than Chevy’s competing Nova at the time which also saw a redesign in 1975. There was a LN version of the Nova if memory serves but it didn’t last and most examples were far plainer vinyl bench seat examples with 250 sixes.

Nova LN (“Luxury Nova”) was 1975 only. In ’76 the same car was renamed Nova Concours. For ’77 the Concours was broken out into a separate model, no longer a Nova, and got its own grille (with rectangular lights IIRC). Then for ’78 Chevy reversed course because a fancy Nova would infringe on the new downsized Malibu’s turf, so the Concours was dropped and replaced with a distinctly plainer Nova Custom.

My dislike for these cars are not for what they were, but because they vastly outsold a much better, much finer automobile – the Chevy Concours of the same era.

For those who don’t recognize the name, this was the top trim version of the final (and finest) generation of the Chevy Nova. Brougham-like luxury without the overbearing, overly loud, brougham style. In a car that drove better and handled much better than any Maverick/Granada ever made.

Unfortunately, GM made a couple of bad mistakes in marketing this one. First off, it was just a trim version, not a ‘completely different’ (yeah, we know better) automobile. Secondly, GM didn’t advertise the car enough. And finally (and most importantly), when GM did advertise the Concours, they did so with a quiet, refined, almost subtle advertising campaign. Something other than screaming, “Now you can fake a Mercedes and impress your stupid friends without spending the money!!!!!”

Thus assuring the Granada’s success. You want the real rationale for buying this car new? Here’s one of the most run ads of the campaign. And I love the (can’t do it anymore) stereotype: New York City Jew, gotta show off but too cheap to do it for real.

I agree that the Concours was better, but Chevy didn’t seem to care as much. When the new Malibu came out in ’78, the Concours name was dropped and renamed ‘Nova Custom’. GM was pushing the new A bodies and the X’s were cheapened, then production ended in Dec. ’78.

GM’s mistake was that the Nova had a cramped back seat with a much too short lower cushion (shades of the current Malibu, which has been dinged regularly for inadequate back seat comfort). The door opening was very narrow as well.

Better handling is nice, but most people at that time were more concerned about comfort, and “comfort” included a usable back seat, particularly for people trading in an LTD Brougham or Caprice Classic. Then as now, car makers need to address the steak before adding the sizzle. Like it or not, for the majority of people buying domestic compacts in 1975, a usable back seat was the steak; better handling was the sizzle. Ford got it right; GM didn’t.

And the trim level and build quality of the base and mid-level Novas were below those of the Granada. There was a basic 1977 Buick Skylark sedan in mint condition at one of the Carlisle car shows, and the quality of its door panels and upholstery wasn’t much better than that of an AMC Hornet. Even then we knew that AMC products were pretty much the bottom of the barrel for interior quality and feel.

I remember that ad from when it first came out! Neighbor had a white round headlamp example that was in Southern California, it was from the midwest and was very rusty, especially around the wheel arches and rockers. Straight 6 with 4 speed floor shifter complete with wood knob. No ac, base model but I remember it had lots of fake wood. He bought it for next to nothing, he replaced the clutch and had trouble reinstalling the trans, I finally came over and helped him and crawling in the dirt under that thing and trying to wiggle the trans in sucked big time, eventually we got it in. I always thought the early models were a good looking car for the times, and I still kind of like them.

While the sales losses of the Concours can be attributed somewhat to the Granada/Monarch, you don’t have to look any farther than the same factory than it was built in…You seem to forget that Buick, Olds and Pontiac also offered the same body with different trims. With the exception of the Seville, with those X bodies you have the ’70s poster child for the moniker “Generic Motors” …. also in ’76 you had the Volare/Aspen and ’77 you also had the Dodge Diplomat/Chrysler LeBaron in the mix

These were everywhere in the 70s. This car’s styling and concept was perfect in 1975, just as the Mustang’s had been in 1964. And I can attest that one of these with a 351 was one of the quicker sedans available then.

As for that hood ornament, My college roommate and I used to debate that as he drove his father’s 76 Granada sedan. I said it looked like a stylized hourglass. He said it looked like two people’s butts backing up against each other. And it actually kind of did.

The ’86 Taurus and Sable brochures listed front vent windows as an option too – the roll-down variety as in Lincolns – but again they never reached production. Never seen a photo of a prototype so equipped either.

When I first met my wife in 1980, her parents had the 2 door , they called the Granola . The only thing the Granada has in common with the Mercedes is the somewhat similar grill design , which was fashionable on many American cars of the 70s. I remember when I first saw a Mercedes back in the early 60s, thinking how goofy the grill looked. It sure caught on a few years later. I think the Chevelles of the 70s had a very close copy of a Mercedes grill.

When these hit the showrooms in late 1974, the NON Ghia models had standard buckets but Ford would de-content the buckets by making a bench seat standard. As for the carpets in a Granada versus “rubber matting” in a Maverick, my family had a 1975 “bare bones”, 6 cylinder with automatic and power steering 4 door Maverick and my sister would own a 74 LDO. Even the cheapest 75 Maverick had carpets, but it was “loop pile” while LDOs and Granadas (at least the Ghia) got “Lincoln-grade” carpeting (cut pile, I think it was).

I would “test drive” a brand-new Granada in 1976 and while closely related to the Falcon and Maverick….brand new, they were very special for a compact car.
I prefer the Monarch but have come close to buying a (much easier to find) Granada. No car from the 70s is all that easy to find anymore unless there was a “high performance” model in the mix. I can run across a mid 70s Nova much more often than a Granada or Volare/Aspen.

Hey, it convinced at least 2 CC Clue commentators that it was a Benz; maybe Ford had something after all!

When I was very young, and my parents were driving the Chevette, my dad’s state car, and occasionally my grandparents’ third car, the Maverick a/k/a Old Greenie, my best friends’ parents had one of these. I remember accidentally setting off an alarm system(!) that it had. As I recall, it was grey with maroon vinyl roof, a 4 door. The dad worked on the faculty with my dad.

I was already inclined towards big, baroque designs at the time (1985) so I remember liking this, even if it wasn’t that big. I do, however, begin to understand Carmine’s criticism of Ford: there’s that damned steering wheel and turn indicators again.

Meanwhile tastes had moved on and in ’86, just before we moved away, my friend’s parents replaced the Granada with the new and popular Jeep Cherokee.

“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

I can’t agree. The GM compacts had an uncomfortable back seat with a narrow door opening. Plus, the base and mid-level versions reflected GM’s belief that people who bought these cars needed to be encouraged to buy a “real” (read – intermediate or full-size) car. No need to make the lower-level versions anything special. Ford, on the other hand, made sure that there was no such thing as a “cheap” Granada (which, in some ways, was simply a replay of the strategy with the original Mustang).

There were very good reasons as to why the Granada beat the Nova in the sales race, and it wasn’t because customers were too dumb to know the difference. Repeatedly blaming the customer when they chose a competitor’s product is what helped land GM management in Washington, D.C., a few years ago, begging for a taxpayer bailout to stay in business.

A neighbor, the kind of guy with flashy jewelry and blow-dried hair, drove a new ’76 or ’77 Mercury Monarch version that had a VERY prominent faux Rolls Royce grille. He would occasionally offer 11 year old me a dollar to polish that grille for him on the weekends. Anyone remember such a thing? Was it factory, or did my very Disco neighbor have a custom?

I remember attending a media ride and drive event in late summer 1974 and being impressed with the fit and finish of these cars. Ford was pushing quality and the previous year’s Mustang clearly showed they could build a car to a high standard.

The Granada/Monarch of this generation did what it was supposed to do being a step up from the Maverick and Comet. I like the boxy design and would buy one now if there was a car to be found in decent condition. I spotted one for sale in Texas with a 302 and 4-speed manual transmission. Low miles and in very nice condition. The asking price was reasonable but Texas is a long way from my house. Perhaps one day I’ll come across a a good example closer to home.

Like many cars from the seventies they were driven and not pampered. No wonder they’re so hard to find.

Looking back 40 years it seems easy to heap abuse on the Granada/Monarch. However at the time the car was new it was very popular and it was a substantial improvement on what it replaced or the competition.

Working at Hertz for several years in the mid-’70s, I drove these often.

The Granada/Monarch was crisp, lite and lithe compared to other mid-sized sedans of the time. Think of the Torino/Montego, “colonnade” Malibu/Cutlass/LeMans, Matador, etc. The G/M was a pleasure to drive compared to those vague beasts. It felt as if Ford was really trying to make a more palatable, more European type sedan.

I never wanted or owned one but I did admire the effort at the time of introduction.

The Granada was a success for FoMoCo because its market planning had been right on the (not inconsiderable) money for 1975: give the people their perceived luxury in a smaller package. It wasn’t particularly good on mileage and didn’t handle well, but it looked like something your neighbor could envy and had a nice ride. Ford, however, stayed with this design concept almost too long for its own survival. Subsequently it continued the “dressed-up tart” approach (or if one wants to be truly insulting, “lipstick on a pig”) on almost their entire model line until it was shaken from its doldrums and brought out the Taurus, eleven model years later.

There was something else that helped the Granada. Ignore the quality issues with Chrysler’s offerings for the next year, 1976: the Plymouth Volare (complete with a better Mercedes-imitation grill) and Dodge Aspen were superior to the Granada. They rode and handled better, were quieter, performed a bit better, and had a plusher interior in their high-end lines. But they had a base model line that LOOKED cheap, so the Volare and Aspen Special Editions still obviously carried the same DNA as the strippos. The Granada didn’t. With the totally different Maverick bringing up the bottom-line rear and carrying the baggage of its 1960 Falcon derivation, Ford aimed the Granada squarely at its intended market. It created the “deluxe compact” concept.

The Granada was certainly no star on the skid pad, but, as I recall, the Aspen and Volare were not champs in this department, either. The much-touted “transverse isolated torsion-bar front suspension” was widely criticized for producing vague, sloppy handling. I don’t remember that Chrysler compacts receiving better reviews for handling.

If you wanted a domestic compact with good handling, you bought a GM compact, and if you wanted it to be REALLY good, you ordered the optional handling package.

In the ride and quietness department, these were quite good for their size, though. Nobody could do isolation and quiet like Ford in those days. I agree that the GM X bodies were better handlers. The early Volare/Aspen was really a big disappointment in the refinement department after we all experienced the Granada. The interiors on the Granada/Monarch were quite nice, especially in Ghia trim. Again, nobody could match Ford on this metric. It’s a shame these were such rust buckets.

That’s interesting, because I don’t recall these as having the reputation as rust buckets around here. The Maverick and Comet, yes, but these weren’t considered any worse than their competition at the time in this area.

jpcavanaugh

Posted December 22, 2014 at 1:26 PM

The 2 doors were definitely worse, usually creating a fist-sized rust hole high in the rear quarter panel, under the opera window. A really, really strange place for a rust hole, but I eventually saw it on about every 2 door Granada/Monarch of any age in my area.

Eric VanBuren

Posted December 22, 2014 at 2:05 PM

I’ve even seen a few of the 2drs with that rust pattern here in the PNW where cars don’t typically rust much.

In Canada there were de-contented “Special Edition” versions of both the Granada and Monarch that deleted the hood ornament, full wheel covers and some other exterior and interior trim. I believe they were offered from ’78-’80, and were very common at the time.

I was 14 in the spring of ’78 (and car-mad) when my parents decided to test-drive a brand new Granada. It was light green with a dark green vinyl interior and a front bench seat, I think it was a base model. What I remember is how it didn’t ride nearly as good as my Dad’s ’69 Galaxie – it bumped and thumped over every road imperfection and the interior had a lot of road noise. Perhaps the higher end models were better.

In general I liked most of these mid sized offerings. Maverick/Granada, NOVA and it’s GM cousins, and the Aspen Volare offerings. Reserving the right to be a little bit strange, however, my money went to the AMC Concord. The manufacturers were learning to deal with a new boss (congress and smog devices) and didn’t do too badly. Today it’s american made japanese vehicles at my house.

In summer 1976, I rode 3 across in the back seat of one of these for a 10 hour drive, from near Erie Pennsylvania back to my home town in Philly. I was 13 and was returning from a bike trip diagonally across the state. Luckily I was bigger than my buddy – he got the center seat. I recall being quite glad we weren’t in my folks’ Vega…
Times were different. I can’t imagine any parent letting their 13 year old son go on a trip like that, as the only two kids in a group of adults they didn’t really know, but it was absolutely a defining moment in my young life.

I have experience with 3 of these-
The first was a ’75 Monarch Drivers Ed car. Ford had a tough time with emission controls in ’75 and it really showed in that example. In addition to being gutless with it’s 302, it would stumble and stutter on acceleration, sometimes cutting out completely in certain conditions, like the ignition had been cut. We had a ’72 Comet LDO with a 302 that would have spanked it.
The next was about a year and half later, a ’76 Granada 2 door 351 loaner that we had while my dad’s near totaled Elite was being fixed.
It was a low option car, and with the 351, actually had some pep, would actually lay rubber. It got sold by the dealer and was replaced by a brand new ’77 Granada 4 door 302 that ran like crap. Reeked of sulphur from the cat, took 2 or 3 tries to start from cold, and was slow as molasses. They didn’t handle that well, but they did survive multiple jumps over a notorious railway crossing out of town, where catching air was possible.
WRT to the surface quality: It was amazing how such a seemingly well turned-out car when new could deteriorate so quickly.

My father’s 76 Monarch with the 351 started and ran quite well for the era. You were right that those were quite fast for the era. He had that car in the middle of my phase where I tried to get every car I could manage up to 100. The Monarch accomplished that feat with zero drama and pedal left, unlike my mother’s 74 LeMans 350, which I could never find enough road to get there.

Buddy’s dad had a 76 with the 250 I6, and it ran well too. It’s funny, everyone at the time saw these as a huge quality advance from the stuff Ford had been turning out in the 1970-73 era that had aged quite poorly, especially in salty areas. The only problem Dad ever had on his was a balky shift lever that sometimes resisted moving out of park and into reverse. He broke the linkage once when trying to make it work. In the end, it was not a bad car, but too small for him and he reverted to his Lincolns.

Although I reveled in the pleasing-to-the-eye, high quality interior & quietness of these Ghia optioned cars; I was always put off by how high and wide the transmission tunnel was and how small the interior volume was.

A 4 door or station wagon Volare/Aspen had MUCH more usable interior volume for about the same overall size.

I see nothing wrong with the car at all. It is a product of it’s generation, not the 80’s or 90’s. It is not intended to be a sporty car or pony car or muscle car. It is your basic American sedan that Detroit had been building since the 50’s. I turned 21 right in the middle of this decade to give me perspective. I also happened to do that in California an important distinction.

By 1973 the first smog requirements were showing up and the first detuned engines appeared. My 1973 Polara has an EGR valve for the first time. It got worse from there as Detroit simply detuned and attach hoses here and there to meet smog regulations. No time to design new engines from the bottom up when you need to plan way ahead. The government was moving faster than Detroit could. Then there were the mandated safety changes. The classic one being those massive bumpers which took years to incorporate into a design.

One can then throw in Japan and Germany to be exact. Being in California one could see, practically overnight, all those cars showing up from other shores. We were the hotbed for imports. The 1970 240Z had a huge waiting list of which I could have gotten one courtesy a friend of my father owning a Datsun dealership. I decided to keep my 1968 Cougar which I still have. Nonetheless, the die was set in California and what starts in California almost always moves East.

By the later half of the 70’s most every family I knew was driving a foreign car. My family certainly was. I hardly saw the last large American sedans such as the 75-78 Marquis or New Yorker. In fact today, as I scan Northern California for them there are very, very few to be found. Yet they pop up all the time in the Midwest. Did they rust out in California? No, they just never sold more than a few.

So I can appreciate this Granada which is another car not ever seen in California anymore. I would plunk down 10 $100 to see if the owner would bit and would be proud to own such a car. A true survivor from an era that everyone pans and consequently should be applauded for making it to 2014. It was a transitional car made during the beginning of the complete restructuring of the American society, the automobile society and Detroit in particular. Actually all cars then were transitional as they were all searching for the elusive magic formula. Let’s not forget it was a slow economic times under Ford and Carter after the Watergate debacle and Vietnam ending.

Growing up, my best friends parents ordered a 1976 Granada Ghia 4dr. I remember going with them to the showroom to place the order. His dad checked all the boxes… leather seats, fancy mag style wheels, sun roof, etc. His mom picked out the beautiful emerald green exterior, dark green interior, and a white vinyl roof. When the car finally came in, the order was somehow messed up and the car didn’t have the leather, fancy wheels, or the sunroof. But, it was the right colors and they needed to take delivery, as they were leaving for a road trip that weekend for Florida.

The car was really a looker. Even though it didn’t have the fancy mag wheels, it had wheel covers that were white to match the vinyl roof and pinstripes. I really thought that this car looked just like a small LTD It was very comfortable for 4 (it was hard to sit in the middle of the back seat due to the huge transmission tunnel.

The family had the car for many years. I recall that the plastic wood caps on the doors started to crack when the car was about 4 years old. Besides that, the car held up good and they never had an issue with it mechanically.

One of our other neighbors had a 1974ish Maverick 4 door with the fancy trim. The car did not look as good, or as big as the Granada.

Yes, the Granada had a strange looking hood ornament and no one could ever figure out what it was supposed to be.

I think the folks that heap abuse on the Monarch/Granada were not those that mocked it due to those Mercedes comparison ads (even Stevie Wonder could see that there was no way or no how that the Granada could even be mentioned in the same sentence as a Benz let alone look like one.)

It was those poor schmucks that had to ride around in them when they were kids. Childhood was tough enough without having the ride around in that bucket of crap. My brothers and I grew up with one. My folks bought a brand new 1976 Monarch at the tail end of the 76 model year and I was born a few months later in Feb of 1977 and had to suffer in that car from 77-86 (when it was replaced by a 1986 Aries wagon(another shit box but at least it had comfy seats) ) The thing was too damn hot in the summer and to damn cold in the winter with its blue interior and second rate heat and A/C. In the end it was used as partial payment on a bathroom remodel in 1986(yup thats right that piece of Shit was used as a payment of remodeling a place that you deposit shit(aka the john) )

People are too hard on these. Think of them as downsized LTD’s, arriving two years ahead of GM’s B bodies. Buyers found they get all the luxe they wanted in a tidier package than the LTD or Torino/LTDII.

I’d be curious to see the V8 mileage figures, vs its larger corporate brethren. And definely don’t like the corporate FoMoCo cheap-out in their generic steering wheel and cheesy console shifter, which looked just as bad perched on the carpeted transmission tunnel of a Pinto!

I don’t think I’m too hard on these; I lived with one (a 75 Monarch Ghia) from 76-79, when I replaced it with a Fox Mustang. In the 302 version, acceleration was almost non-existent, the engine bucked and stumbled when you put your foot on the gas (it took me years to break the habit of not going across an intersection if there was cross traffic within a quarter mile or so), and gas mileage was around 10 in town and 16 on freeways going 65. A friend actually got 18 doing exactly 55 on a straight flat highway in South Dakota one time. The spare tire took up about half of the trunk (when 3 friends and i drove to Florida for winter break we had to leave the spare at home to have enough space for our clothes, a tent, and sleeping bags). The front u-joint blew (have you heard the u-joint nearest the transmission disconnect? it sounds like a mini-explosion next to your knee) at around 3 years, and the alternator went not long after.

So, awful gas mileage, horrible driveability, negligible acceleration, terrible trunk space, and wretched quality. What’s not to like? I’ve often said that had I not gone to work for Ford in 78 the Monarch would have been my last Ford product ever.

Now, as much as I detested the Monarch, I’m pleased to see one of these survive so long, and I wish it a long life with an owner who appreciates it for what it is. Perhaps with a transplanted 5.0 HO from an 80s Mustang and some suspension and tire upgrades.

Certainly cars from this era had quality issues and emission controls made driveability less enjoyable. I had a 75 Custom 500, an ex-RCMP car that ran rough at idle and no one seemed to be able toe correct the situation. The mid to late seventies certainly was the dark ages of the automobile. Still, there were many Nice cars during that period it’s unfortunate so many were poorly built or under engineered.

The toe in problem was likely sloppy assembly ~ I don’t ken Geometry very well but I do know it’s *critical* to good driving manners .

I find so many vehicles with the Pittman arm installed one or three splines off center on the steering box from the Factory ~ this seriously screws up the cornering ability of any car even if the toe and camber are set dead nuts ~ .

I always make a point of pulling the Pittman arm and using a degree wheel to properly center the steering box then assemble the rest going out from there ~

The original Granada, like the one featured here, was actually a good-looking automobile if you ignore the silly Mercedes comparisons. Not too baroque, relatively good proportions, “broughamed up” nicely. I’ve never ridden in or driven one, so i can’t really speak to that, but a good looker overall and a head-turner when seen today just because they’re so rare. For an offer of $1100 I could be tempted (though the trunk rack would have to go).

The facelift? Ugh. Horrid. I don’t know what they were trying to acheive, but they unquestionably failed. Looks truck-like, and not in any good way.

I can’t be too hard on the Granada. Yes, the Mercedes comparison is ultimately silly, but in the early 1970s, plenty of people were getting tired of driving overblown full-size domestic cars. Not all of them wanted to switch to a Toyota Corona, let alone a BMW 2002. A conventional, domestic compact that didn’t remind everyone that you didn’t spend enough to buy a full-size car was just the ticket in 1975-76, and the market responded. The fact that GM, Chrysler and even AMC followed with their own luxury compacts shows that Ford did have a Better Idea.

There was a low-mileage, mint 1976 Monarch Ghia coupe at the spring Carlisle show this past April, and it was definitely better than its domestic competition in the fit-and-finish department.

At any rate, three years later Ford would roll out the all-new Fairmont and Zephyr. Those cars really were the future, and didn’t need to look like a cut-rate Mercedes to succeed.

“I do miss color-keyed wheel covers, but man, it must have been a royal pain to get a new one when one was lost…”

All of the special trim pieces on the 70’s Fords was a pain to replace. My 72 Maverick LDO was hit on the right side in 73 by a drugged out surfer in a Beetle when he failed to stop while exiting a beach parking lot onto PCH. The car lost its unique “color-keyed” side trim, front bumper guard, and one of the wheel covers. It took an LA body shop months to get all of these unique pieces. And the first set of side trim that arrived was from a dye lot that didn’t match.

Speaking of trim pieces, it is nice to see one of these Granadas with the gas filler door trim intact. The spring mechanism broke on nearly all of these and many owners left them hanging. I’d wager that the subject car has had at least one replacement.

OMG! I had forgotten about the fuel filler door. Actually, it wasn’t the spring, it was that the door was one piece of plastic folded over to make a hinge which broke easily. Mine broke during my first Michigan winter, so I had it replaced at the dealer. When it broke a second time I said the hell with it and left it hanging by the spring.

While I will always prefer 2 door cars, the Granada/Monarch was one of those rare cars that actually didn’t look bad with 4 doors. It was solid and well built. I have never driven one, It was probably just ok as far as performance goes, but the styling was very classy. I actually liked it better than a Mercedes. If you are going to have a sedan, this is what it should look like. It was the antithesis of today’s ovaloid eggmobiles. Anybody could tell what it was just from a glance.

The Granada was the right car for the time and marketing it as a premium compact was genius. No people didn’t think they were getting a Mercedes but it did drive home the point that you could get a compact car with “luxury” type appointments at Ford pricing. Soldering on the Maverick was also stroke of genius as it reinforced the Granada as the premium choice and didn’t sully its name by needing to have fleet grade versions. Ford made good money on both cars. All Granadas had bigger profit margins and by that time so did the Maverick as the tooling had already been amortized.

My friend Rob’s parents had a 1976 Granada 4-dr., brown with tan vinyl interior. IIRC, it didn’t have any options at all! Even the radio was deleted – there was a big piece of woodgrain where the radio was supposed to be! We used to ride around with a boom box for a stereo. One day in the summer of ’86, we were coming home from the beach. It began raining very hard, and Rob didn’t see the huge hole in the road ahead. All of a sudden we heard a loud bang. The car leaned to the right and we almost lost full control, swerving off the road luckily to safety. We got out and looked for the damage. The right rear wheel could hardly be seen. The tire was in tact, but something was definitely not right. Upon opening the trunk, we were startled with the most unique discovery – the right rear leaf spring came right through the trunk and was staring us in the face! It was so bizarre to see that, and was also the end of the Granada forever.

I’d cruise one of those any time. Didn’t care much for them when new, but I’ve warmed up to them with time. I’ll take a 302 (converted to Ford’s wonderfully tunable EFI of course 🙂 ) powered 4 door, the doors on the 2 door are too damn long and look out pf proportion.

Here in salt country, the Granada twins managed to survive longer than same era Pintos, Mustang II’s, and even LTD’s. Friends had them as beaters in late 80’s with tough, but slow, I6.

Someone pointed out this is the car’s 40th anniv. Also, the hood ornament lasted into the 1981-82 Fox version. I think that the 1983 Fox LTD should have kept Granada name, too.

Now that I think about it, the Granada was more marketable. [I was GM fanboy then]While the NOVA X-body cars may have handled better, and had street cred from hot rodded 68-74’s, they were too cramped as luxo-compacts. They kept the back seats small, had less soundproofing, so as not to steal sales from the “Cutlass family”.

A buddy had one in the early 1980s; low-trim model, the “Big Six,” three on the tree–and a previous owner had disconnected all the vacuum lines underhood and installed a manual (!) choke. It had become very rusty well before its 10th birthday, but he eked out some very good freeway mileage (for a non-compact), way up in the upper-20s mpg. Back seat was really usable (compared to Maverick), and trunk likewise.

He still had the original set of those “Firestone 500” (?) radials that had the tire-separation issues and the recall; I remember seeing his tread coming un-bound from the belts, and a quick drive to the Firestone dealer…

Joe Yoman, can you tell me where the ’77 is for sale? Sounds kinda tempting, unless the dealer wants way too much…those sixes can roll up an awful lot of miles…

I’ve always liked the Ford Granada/Mercury Monarch’s and thought they were nice looking cars with the 1975-77 front end, I never liked the front end’s of the 1978-80 models which looked cheap, I’m glad to see there is a nice well maintained Granada on the road, I actually came across a slightly later Ford Granada ESS parked on the side of the street yesterday morning and it appeared to be in good shape, it did have the column shifter automatic, I consider the 1975-77 Ford Granada/Mercury Monarch’s to be one of the better vehicles built during the 1974 to 1979 period.

I recall reading that there was some sort of licensing-fee issue that Ford decided to duck by discontinuing the Ghia trim levels. Also, Detroit’s inferiority complex that began in the ’80s meant that doing things the foreign-car way must be better, so uplevel trim options would henceforth be denoted by letter clusters like GLX rather than Ghia or Custom or Brougham.

I’m presuming you mean one from the mid 70s with a more modern engine that actually runs right and gets decent mileage. As I said above, I could get behind one with a 220-225 hp 5.0 HO from an 80s Mustang and some suspension and tire upgrades. The potential for a decent sports sedan is there.

When these came out I instantly liked them. In the fall of 1975 I was looking to buy my first new car. I came close to buying a Monte Carlo, but decided the size, lousy paint job for a new car and price turned me off. I decided that I would like a Granada coupe. I even test drove one and liked the way it behaved. I also liked the style and size. I only had one daughter at the time, so we didn’t need a large car. I tried but could not see a way to afford what I wanted so I settled for a Mustang II. Then In Feb of 1979 after another girl was born we drove to Florida in the Mustang II. With 2 weeks of luggage and all the baby care stuff, we were crammed in there. I had a better job then , but the Granada looked a little dated by then. Instead I bought a new Malibu coupe.Much roomier. Well, all 3 daughters took all of our family vacations in that car until they were out on their own. Same size car as the Granada and served us all these years. I still have it today. Of course the kids complained about the back seat on trips, but even though they tried to talk us into it, we never bought a minivan.

I have 2 daughters, both grown, and am now happily divorced. I was only married 7 years. During that time I had a ’79 Camaro, an ’87 Fiero, and a ’77 Corvette. My X wife had a ’77 Chevelle station wagon. She loved that car. I kept it going, and it was what we used to haul the kids around. It was in near new condition when we got it. Sure wish I could find another one in that condition.

I thought the Granada was a beautiful design when new, and it has aged well. It is still a handsome car. It even has a vertical grill and hood ornament, and you could get it with a vinyl top. The nice flat dash is also very cool looking.

As for 8 track players, I love them. I have bought a lot of 8 track stuff off eBay. I scored a brand new never opened underdash 8 track player, and installed it in my ’72 Pinto woodgrain wagon. All I need now is a surfboard on top

This is actually a pretty handsome car, unlike the Mustang II it’s proportions are pretty ok, a result of being based on the Falcon no doubt. The 75-77s were always thin on the ground in my lifetime, but the 78-80s I have more memories of, which explains why I personally never held the Granada in high regards, it looks like it was styled after an 8 track player.

The Mercedes thing is pretty laughable, especially when considering the underpinnings, although there was a certain Class in the Granada’s bare profile that is Mercedes like for the day. Also like most Mercedes of the day I think the Sedan looks much better than the coupe.

This car, however plain it may be, brings back memories of my grandfather. He bought a new one in 1977, the year I was born. It was dark green with a white vinyl top. I have a picture of me in 1978 sitting on the hood. He kept this car until the late ’80s, when he replaced it with a Tempo, then later a Mercury Tracer, which would be his last car.

I still see clearly in my mind the car going down the gravel alley (grandpa was our neighbor) waving at me playing outside as he left for a Sunday drive.

Back when I was a kid in the mid-80’s, I remember actively disliking the looks of the 1st- gen cars, in both coupe and sedan form. I especially disliked the exposed, round, metal gas-cap between the taillamps on the lower-level cars.

But this Ghia sedan speaks to me. I even like the root beer-brown paint. Its whole look is cohesively luxe, inside and out. I tend to like coupes, but a nice, 1975 – ’77 Granada Ghia sedan like this one would be the most useful and practical way to get my brougham fix – with a back seat which is probably more roomy and accessible than that of any personal luxury coupe of that era.

That triple-green Ghia sedan TeeJay described (as ordered from the factory) sounds like a dream.

I had a Dove Gray ’77 Granada Ghia two door, that I absolutely loved. I drove it to ’82 when I got a new EXP and I gave the Granada to my sister to drive. I got it back in ’85 and drove it another 4 years. It was the first car I had with leather and power windows, etc. It had everything: V8, automatic, cruise. Very comfortable to drive and ride in. I’d buy another one (new) today and drive it with pride. I never had a minute of problem with my Granada. Even after all those years in Michigan winters, there was no rust through. The car held up wonderfully. I don’t understand why all the criticism people are writing. If you had owned the Granada I did, you’d love them yet today.

I bet you cheated and took some sort of reasonable care of it like washing it occasionally and not allowing the gravel to accumulate in the foot wells where it always grinds through the carpets and scrapes the paint of the metal floors…

Then folks complain of rusting .

-Nate
(one of those odd ducks who washed his 1959 Ford F-100 weekly even in January , in New Hampshire when it was just an old $25 truck)

I was in high school when these came out – it was a big deal because you could get a mini-LTD for not much more than Maverick LDO prices. Like the Mustang II, it was a sales homerun. Driving full size cars back then was no fun – besides trying to determine the corners of the car, handling positively sucked. A smaller package made complete sense. I was shocked a few years ago to learn it was still essentially the Falcon chassis…

Perhaps the Mercedes comparison was more relevant on the West Coast; on the East Coast the middle class had little exposure to MB and could probably care less. What our market saw was an upscale compact car. While the Nova handled better, it was still a Nova…small back seat and all. Note that Chryco went to fancier names (Aspen/Volare) when they replaced the Dart/Valiant.

The only change I would have made if I was in charge of marketing the car was have the ESS model available right off, with a firmer suspension and full gauges.

Yes, I kept my Granada clean inside and out. There is a bit more I wanted to say….. someone wrote about how the back end seems to appear lower than the front in all the pictures. You’re all too young to remember this but when I got my license in ’66, the style then was to lower the back and raise the front of cars, to make them look like they were taking off. Pealing out. Lead sled look. So, I think when the Granada came out, it was to appeal to those of us who liked the appearance of a lower back of the car so it looked powerful, like it is ready to take off fast from the stop light. Today, cars are more wedge shaped, sort of like they’re all slamming on their breaks. But, we know the design today is to make them appear to be slicing through the air for better mileage. We weren’t concerned with mileage in my day…. after all, when I was in highschoool, gas was $.249 a gallon! A dollar in the tank and we drove all night.
My Granada went strong for me from ’77 to ’89, and then it went to my nephew for his first car when he was 16. It took him through highschool and 3 years of college.
Yes, the Granada was an outstanding car. Well built, great simple design, very comfortable and powerful enough to handle any kind of driving necessary. And, even in our Michigan winters, I don’t remember having to get snow tires either as I believe the balance of weight throughout the car lent itself to good traction in the snow.
I had no complaints with the Granada.

The interior looks to be in excellent shape. Also, I noticed a floor shift (automatic) and console (with warning lights) which is a bit rare. Based on the interior, I suspect the mileage is on the low side. The rest of the car looks to be in good shape other then the passenger side swipe. A little body work, a trip to the CC junk yard for body trim (another CC story in it self), and this could be true CC rolling Classic.

I know many make fun of the MB comparison. However, this car (and the Monarch) allowed North Americans to realize the bigger was NOT always better. It was OK to to lop 300 to 600 lbs from the frame, but still have the same amount of interior space. It looks to have more head and leg room than some of the sedans that I have recently shopped (especially rear seat head room). Maybe this is why so many have shifted away from sedans to SUVs.

GM failed to capitalize on this trend (Nova LN/Concours) and went nowhere. Chrysler initially picked up this trend with the Aspen/Volare, but the shortcuts came back to bite them in the butt.

I had a 1978 Granada Ghia 4door with the big motor. It had enough power to chirp the tires shifting into second gear. It was a really good car. That was the last car I ever had with a traditional 3 speed auto. The one I had, had some really unusual brakes. They were 4 wheel disc brakes and they did not have a vacuum booster. The power brakes got their power from the power steering pump. I have never before or since owned a car that could stop as quickly as that car could. I have also never owned a car that could take speed bumps so well. I could literally go over speed bumps at 50mph without any apparent ill effects. It just went over them like they were not even there.

Oh hell yeah. I’d easily pay $1000 for it. I like the round headlight models better anyway. Would love to find one with the 200 and stick. Only thing is, Ford wouldn’t let you have AC with that drivetrain, even with the 3.40 gears out back. Strangely enough, you could get the 4 wheel disc brakes with that combo. Go figure!

I’m putting together what I think is going to be the hottest Ford Granada in America. I bought my first year two door 1975 Ford Granada Ghia from Bill Pierre Ford in Seattle in August of 1975 and have had it ever since.

Last week on December 22, 2016 I got the Granada back from Jim Green, one of the premiere hot rod shops in the Pacific Northwest. It now has a 351 Ford Windsor engine block, stroked out to a 408 cubic inch 500 horsepower engine. Just wait till I show you what else I’m planning!